Improved bung for beer-casks



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

IMPRovED BUNG FOR BEI-:R-GASKS.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,904, dated May 22,1866.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL HEY, of the city of Philadelphia, in theState ot' Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement inVentilating Beer-Brings; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description-ot' the construc tion and operationof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making apart of this speciiication, in which- Figure l represents the inner sideot' a vertical half-section of a Ventilating beer-bung; Fig. 2, atransverse or horizontal section of the same below the dotted line :r yof Fig. l, and Fig. 3 my improved valve-disk, like letters of referenceindicating the same parts when in both figures.

'lhe object of my improvement is to ai'ord a valve for a seltventin gbeenbarrel bung that will not be liable to become fast or obstructed inits operation from the adhesive or gummy nature ot' the beer, which mayat any time come into direct contact with it.

My invention consists in giving to either the face of the valve-disk orits seat a sharp edge bearin g, substantial] y as hereinafter describedand set forth.

In the drawings, A B represent a self-venting beer-barrel bung providedwith the usual inlet-openings waz, and D the valve.

The bung A B is cast of brass or other suitable metal and provided witha valve-seat in its upper end, the opening to which is closed airtightby means of a screw-plug, a3.

- The part of the inletopening which is below the valve D communicatesat its lower end with the external air through a diametrical opening,a4, in the neck of the bung. In Fig. 2 this opening is :indicated by thedotted lines c o. The space which is above the valve-seat communicateswith the remaining portion, ct of the inlet.

The valve D, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consists of a loose disk ofmetal, a5, and the seat upon which the said disk rests has a raisedannular portion, as, Witha sharp edge upward, surrounding theinlet-opening a' thereat, and the space above the disk a5 is madesufficiently high to allow the said disk to be raised by the passage ofthe air from beneath it upward, but yet low enough to prevent the saiddisk from being turned over or out of its place thereby.

The seat of the valve D should be made dat, and the sharp annular edgea6 be formed on the under side of the disk, as shown in Fig. 3, thusavoiding the annular groove in the seat, (shown in Figs. 1 and 2,) whichbecomes filled with gummy matter and causes the loose disk to stick.

It will be seen that as the contact portions of the valve D consist of aplain dat seat and a sharp annular edge on a light loose disk only,there is not suflicient contact-surface to permit adhesion, so as toprevent the passage of external air into the barrel as the beer is drawnout from time to time, and yet that it will e'ectually prevent theescape through it of any carbonic-acid gas which may be generated at anytime in the barrel.

Having thus fully described my improvement, I do not desire to claim norto use a sharp edge on the seat of a valve 5 but,

I claim- The sharp-edged disk, Fig. 3, when applied to operate upon aflat seat in a Ventilating beer-bung as and for the purpose described.

Witnesses: MICHAEL HEY.

BENJ. MoEIVsoN, J As. WINsMoEE. i

